Saturday 24 April 2010

Gorgeous George

George Galloway turns up at the school gates. Much excitement amongst the children, as he's handing out stickers and balloons. (Some of these kids sport big "Vote Respect" stickers the next day, I feel bad because I want them to take them off, yet they are so pleased with their stickers and there's no way they'd understand why they mustn't wear them.) He is a despicable human being but popular around Bow - and I will tell the politicians exactly why, in just 3 words:

He shows up.

(He schmoozes, he courts the poor people, he talks to them, he does that politican's trick of gazing at them as though what they're saying is the most important thing in the world to him. We have not seen head nor hide of any of the other local MPs. Then they wonder why there's apathy and low voter turnout. It's because they aim their campaigning at the middle classes. )

Anyway, one of my colleagues went to see him at the school gate, and they had the following conversation.

GG: What can we do for you? What do you need?
Josh: (deadpan) Well, we need more car parking spaces.
GG: IT'S OUR TOP PRIORITY!
Josh: It's your top priority?
GG: Amongst other things...

Saturday 17 April 2010

And another thing...

Yesterday a man died in Oakland immigration centre (a place with a dodgy track record.) He died of a heart attack, after complaining of pain and being refused medical care. The detainees protested and riot police were called in. How did the BBC report this? "Immigraton Officers Hurt."

I don't believe in the BBC any more either. They don't report the straight story, they spin it like the Daily Mail.

Meantime, Meg Hillier, Home Office Minister tells porkies about the Yarl's Wood women's hunger strike (5 weeks, how long would you go without food to make a point?) For shame, Meg.

If you think it's a bad idea to lock innocent kids up, I'd just like to draw your attention to the End Child Detention campaign - the petition has ended but you can email your MP, once they've got in. (I emailed mine & he said "I agree with you. I'm unable to check I'm afraid as Parliament's dissolved, but I think I did sign it. I've certainly made representations on the issue in the past. I advise that you take up the issue again after the election with the new MP." I forgot parliament had dissolved. Doh. )

It's not a sexy exciting election issue I know, but it makes you think. What kind of country have we turned into?

Wednesday 14 April 2010

On Philip K Dick

I do apologise for sullying this book blog with electioneering. Old habits die hard, & all that...

Anyway, every time I look at my bookshelves they seem to be multiplying, it's very odd, (and a bit worrying.) Can't seem to stay on top of it at all.

Philip K Dick called it kipple - "a combination of entropy and capitalism... " "Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you to go bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up there is twice as much of it. It always gets more and more. No one can win against kipple, except temporarily and maybe in one spot."

What should I give away next, in the battle against kipple?
Vote for the next book to get the chop! It'll be just like a reality TV show, but more literary.

Dirty Weekend, Helen Zahavi
Tarantula, Bob Dylan
Girls on Film, Julie Burchill

Monday 12 April 2010

Can't vote won't vote

Who are you voting for? I just realised that if I want to vote I need to apply because I moved house. But do I really care? Can I be arsed... really?

I hate them all equally. I would never vote Tory on principle. Labour are not socialist any more, in fact they've been more fascist, paranoid, and restrictive, they've done more to damage our civil liberties and turn this country into a police state than even the Tories ever did. The Lib Dems are clueless and unlikely to get in.

And they all make whatever pie in the sky promises they like before an election, and there's never any guarantee that they'll ever do it afterwards. Some of them individually may have integrity but once they get sucked into the system it becomes all about jostling for power.

I can hear my mum's voice saying "Think of the suffragettes!" But I also remember Emma Goldman saying "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." And Douglas Adams writing "... if they didn't vote, the wrong lizard might get in. "

To sum up,you do the best you can with what you've got. They're not the best we've got. I think I don't believe in our political system anymore, only in grassroots politics.

Wednesday 7 April 2010

A Year in the Life of The Man Who Fell Asleep

by Greg Stekelman

I just found this on my bookshelves (how is this? I'm giving them away, yet they seem to be accumulating mysteriously again - I think they are BREEDING when I'm out of the room - I might be like the Victorians, and separate my male & female authors onto different shelves for the sake of propriety).

Do you know the Man Who Fell Asleep? He had a blog for years, (you can find it, I'm too lazy to link these days) then it was turned into this book, which is kind of like a blog you can hold in your hands and turn the pages of - funny, odd, surreal, satirical, random and mysterious. He's also one of the pleasures of Twitter - you can't believe how many funny thoughts a person can have in a day, it's like he's got Funny Tourettes. So I intend to read this superfast and let it loose on the tube.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Twitter. Hmmm.

I am not at all sure about it....

  • It seems it is more for people who have jobs which require them to sit on a computer all day & need the distraction. I feel like I'm missing out all day long.
  • I don't like the way people can't see you unless they are already following you, it seems a vicious circle. Not accustomed to being IGNORED, do you hear me?
  • It gives me anxiety every time I see that everyone else has 1 million followers - who ARE all these people?
  • I don't like the way that everyone seems to get all excited when it's someone off the telly - blogs were more democratic, I thought we'd got past that old celebrity whoring - so 90s, my dears - & the idea that fame makes you more interesting - Twitter is proof that it really, really doesn't.
  • But mostly I'm not sure because I prefer to bang on at tedious length and can't be succinct & witty, especially not at 140 characters.
In other news, Billy has invited me to contribute to his zine, which is something about Lesbians & Cake, but I'm out of practice & rusty & out of inspiration. Bah, can't write any more. I'm creatively obsolete & redundant.